Hyper Track | HarmonyOS NEXT official version is just around the corner

Author: Zhou Yuan / Wall Street News

Information from multiple sources indicates that the official version of HarmonyOS NEXT will be released at the end of September. Chen Xinxin, General Manager of Huawei's Harmony Industry Solutions, confirmed this news at the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services.

HarmonyOS NEXT has attracted high market attention because it is the third largest IoT operating system after Android and iOS, based on Huawei's self-developed full-stack system. HarmonyOS NEXT is also an independent IoT system fully controlled by China.

Yu Chengdong, Executive Director of Huawei, Chairman of the Terminal BG, and Chairman of the Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, stated that HarmonyOS NEXT can improve overall performance by 30% and reduce power consumption by 20%.

According to individuals involved in testing the HarmonyOS NEXT system, the smoothness of HarmonyOS NEXT is extremely high. Currently, HarmonyOS NEXT has basically covered mainstream daily applications, including essential national apps such as WeChat and WPS (adaptation completed on September 14).

HarmonyOS NEXT is dubbed as a "pure version," mainly because this new domestic independent operating system abandons the Linux kernel and traditional AOSP code, only supporting the Hongmeng kernel and applications of the Hongmeng system, making it incompatible with the original Android system.

The term AOSP code refers to the source code of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

This is an open-source project led by Google, providing the core source code of the Android operating system. Anyone can download and use the AOSP code to create custom versions of Android-based operating systems.

The design purpose of AOSP is to prevent any single industry participant from restricting or controlling the innovation of other participants, ensuring that the source code is open for customization and porting.

AOSP code includes various components required to build the Android operating system, such as the kernel, Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), Android Runtime Environment, core libraries, and some core applications. While anyone can use the Android source code for any purpose, device manufacturers must participate in the Android Compatibility Program to participate in the shared application ecosystem built around Android.

AOSP code is the foundation of the Android operating system, allowing for extensive customization and innovation while ensuring compatibility and consistency among Android devices.

Therefore, by abandoning AOSP code, HarmonyOS NEXT is completely independent of the Android operating system, belonging to a brand-new technical framework. For example, HarmonyOS NEXT adopts Huawei's self-developed Starlight security architecture, relying on software and hardware collaborative capabilities and the Hongmeng kernel to build a new security system and order.

It is currently known that HarmonyOS NEXT will be used in various types of terminals such as Huawei smartphones, pads, laptops, smart screens, and foldable screens Among them, this new system will be used in Huawei's newly launched foldable phone, the Huawei Mate XT, including the upcoming Huawei Mate 70 series.

A piece of news on September 14 caught the attention of Wall Street: Kingsoft Office announced that its office software suite WPS has completed the development adaptation for HarmonyOS NEXT.

Kingsoft Office stated that WPS has completed the development of the HarmonyOS native version application, adapting the product to screens of different sizes such as mobile phones, foldable screens, and tablets, and based on unified multi-platform accounts, achieved cross-platform and cross-device document and data sharing, supporting multi-user collaboration, browsing, editing, and revision capabilities.

In other words, WPS HarmonyOS native applications are running smoothly on all platforms, and WPS AI has also been launched on multiple platforms, with dozens of AI functions migrated to HarmonyOS NEXT.

The biggest practical demand for foldable screens mainly comes from mobile lightweight office applications. As a new foldable category, the Huawei Mate XT has an unfolded size of nearly 10 inches, close to the actual size of a tablet. If the lightweight office experience of the three-fold screen model can be improved to be on par with laptops, the demand for this form of terminal will be ignited.

"Since foldable models have solved the weight and battery life issues, I basically don't use laptops when traveling anymore," a market research director at an investment company told Wall Street, "If Mate XT can achieve a similar office software adaptation experience as laptops, then I definitely won't bring heavy and low-battery laptops when traveling."

With a high stock of 1 million units, is Huawei's confidence in improving the C-end experience of lightweight office software on HarmonyOS NEXT the reason behind it?

As of May 2024, the HarmonyOS ecosystem has exceeded 900 million devices, with 2.54 million developers and monthly app development service calls reaching 82.7 billion times; the HarmonyOS NEXT operating system has gathered over 5,000 apps in its ecosystem, with over 1,500 apps already listed.

It can be said that the starting point of the HarmonyOS NEXT ecosystem is quite high. Based on China's strong promotion of the overall security of the electronics consumer industry, the future prospects of HarmonyOS NEXT's ecosystem construction in China are undoubtedly foreseeable. In the near future, for the Chinese market, the ecosystem strength of HarmonyOS NEXT will have the ability to confront Android and iOS operating systems head-on